


Angels and Demons

by caer_swan (mistymystery5)



Category: Breath of Fire III
Genre: AU, F/M, Other, VideoGame, gender swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-03
Updated: 2010-08-03
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:17:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistymystery5/pseuds/caer_swan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He turned to her. She was standing close to him, peering into his clawed hands. Without being prompted, Ryu took her clothing and began to dress. The garments fit, but were too tight around her hips and chest for Garr's liking. How could he apologize to Ryu now that he knew she was a girl?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angels and Demons

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set in the Playstation videogame Breath of Fire III. In this work Ryu, normally depicted as a male in each of the series' games, is found to be female by Garr, the dragon-slaying Guardian. Ten years previously, Garr and Ryu battled on the holy ground of Angel Tower. Ryu defeated the mighty guardian and instead of murdering him, Ryu flew away. Garr spent those ten years searching for his former companion, only to end up in the mysterious Dauna Mines hunting a dragon whelp.

_Dauna Mines_

Despite his size, Garr was good at creeping around without a sound. The loose, leather breastplate he wore all these years didn't creak, or even make a noise as it rubbed against the rough fabric of his tunic. But Garr wasn't moving at the moment. He was wedged between two large, decaying crates, watching the moving shadows in the large mine room, waiting for something in particular.

Somewhere in the mine water dripped, the noise echoing around the long corridors. All else was quiet.

A giant roach scuttled by. Garr'd had enough of those, and the zombies too. Since arriving he'd killed his fair share of them. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the carcasses, or even what the miners normally did with them. If he had to leave the mine before his task was complete, he would be sure to ask the mine foreman. Maybe it would be a good idea, stretch out his wings in the sun.

Knowing the miners, there was probably a rank pit somewhere where they disposed of the bodies. The corpses and roach shells served a purpose now, their decaying flesh covering the smell of his own hulking body.

The whelp entered the cavern. Garr could smell it and just hear the little stones skitter away from the its feet as it mosied along. The actual location of the whelp was another question entirely. Where he was wedged, Garr barely had enough room to peek around the corner of the crates. He didn't want to give away his position. A flicker of something caught Garr's eye. He focused on a large chunk of chrysm sticking out of the rough, chiseled wall. The light of the closest torch, some thirty feet away, made the green, crystalline substance glow faintly. The whelp's familiar shadow moved across the floor.

He held his breath back, allowing escaping air to hiss out as he exhaled, hoping the little dragon couldn't hear him breathing. They had been dancing this cat-and-mouse game for too long. Garr trying to hunt the whelp without hurting it and the whelp spitting its burning breath at him every chance it got. He was hoping this whelp was the one.

It had been ten years since he had seen Ryu. Garr had searched day after day for his friend, after their battle at Angel Tower, where Garr turned against Ryu and tried to kill him. He didn't expect forgiveness. But Ryu didn't kill Garr after he had transformed into a dragon and beaten the Guardian down. Instead Ryu morphed into a Kaiser Dragon and winged away.

When word reached Garr that a whelp was roaming the Dauna Mines, he had hoped it was Ryu. And here he was now, waiting for the whelp to cross his path so he could whack the little thing with the flat end of his spearhead.

The long shadow stopped moving. Garr could feel its uncertainty. The creature squeaked and began scampering away. Garr had been found out. He cursed to himself. Time for Plan B.

He moved with haste, propelling himself out of his hiding spot with his reptilian wings. He caught sight of the whelp's disappearing tail as it rounded the corner.

Garr chased after it. He felt too old for this.

The whelp ran to the largest sub-chamber, the one with the huge dragon skull encased in glowing chrysm. It ducked behind the crystalline mountain, taking the wooden path that was build around it. Garr picked up a jagged stone and followed its direction. He shifted his weight to his back leg and with a mighty swing hefted the stone towards the other side of chrysm. An explosion of noises sounded from the other end: the rock bouncing and shattering, the scream of the surprised whelp, the splintering of the wood as the creatures claws dug into the path...

It moved quickly, but Garr was faster. The whelp was knocked out cold the second it cleared the corner.

And then it morphed into a blue-haired person.

Garr dropped his spear.

This person was a girl person. A girl person with a girl shape and girl curves, a blue-haired girl.

She shifted and moaned. Garr bent over her. He shrugged his bag off his shoulder and pulled from it a soft cloak. He draped it over her naked body. As he did her trembling hand moved to the knot that had swelled on the side of her head. She made another noise, louder than the first.

"Who are..."

The girl looked up at him with big dark eyes. Garr knew those eyes.

"Ryu...?!"

She blinked up at him and collapsed.

*

They were in the little room off the elevator, the one with the makeshift beds made of crates, straw and rough blankets. Crates lined the far wall, ready to be converted into more sleeping space. During his hunt, Garr had been rooming there. He had pushed several of the crates together to create a bed big enough to fit him. There wasn't enough straw to make it comfortable, but it wasn't the cold, stone ground. He had placed the girl there. She was resting, making little noises as she slept.

She had Ryu's eyes. But she was a she. Ryu was not a she.

Was he? There was a resemblance between the girl and the child Garr had once known. Maybe they were related.

The stone was smooth against Garr's back. He was on the opposite side of the room, leaning against the wall and watching her sleep. Before he placed her on bed he took another quick peek under the cloak. Definitely a girl.

So he waited for her to stir.

She came to slowly, stretching and blinking her eyes. She kicked off the cloak. Garr cleared his throat. "You should... Umm." She started and looked over at him. They stared at each other for a long time. "Ryu?"

After a moment, she nodded. She kicked her legs over the side of the crates, providing Garr with a view of her womanhood. She had no shame. Garr looked away.

"Are you truly Ryu?" he asked her. Of course, he didn't hear an answer. Ryu had never been one for words. He turned his head just enough to see her nod again. Her blue hair was longer than it was ten years ago. It was just past her shoulders and curled up a bit at the ends. "Ryu, are you... Are you a female brood?" She nodded again. The blue hair swept into her eyes. Ryu swatted it away with a huff.

When Ryu was a child, she was always swathed in ill-fitting armor, her hair short and unkempt. It was a good disguise. Her face was usually caked with grime or dirt, much to Nina's dismay. Nina... They always seemed so close, Nina and Ryu. She would always look at Ryu with sparkling, adoring eyes. The nights those two had spend huddled together in the tent. Nina whispering at Ryu. She'd keep everyone awake whispering to Ryu. A thought occured to him.

"Does Nina now about this?" Garr said.

A shrugging nod was the reply.

Ryu stretched and yawned. Garr felt distracted by her. He went to the table in the corner, where his rucksack lay open. He pulled out Ryu's clothing... Her old clothing. He scooped up the material and looked into their folds mournfully. "We have to talk. About Angel Tower."

He turned to her. She was standing close to him, peering into his clawed hands. Without being prompted, Ryu took her clothing and began to dress. The garments fit, but were too tight around her hips and chest for Garr's liking. How could he apologize to Ryu now that he knew she was a girl?

Part of him desperately wished for Ryu to be the Ryu he knew, or the Ryu he thought he knew. The boy Ryu. It was the Ryu with which he felt comfortable.

But part of Garr liked her just the way she was. He was hellbent on ignoring that part.

**Author's Note:**

> This may or may not be part of a larger body of work. I have a demented need to write Ryu(f)/Garr, Nina/Ryu(f), and Nina/Ryu(f)/Garr.


End file.
